Laser Dazzlers

LEDBE
Greta

Greta

Flashaholic
Joined
Apr 8, 2002
Messages
15,999
Location
Arizona
Does anyone have any information on laser dazzlers? Who makes them? Have they developed far enough now to be more of a handheld device?

This is for law enforcement purposes. I could really use any and all current info that anyone might have.
 
mumble grumble... you coulda' posted it in the LED forum....you never post in my forums....gripe, grumble... it woulda' been on topic....
 
Really? Ok... I'll move it there... sorry James... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif
 
Ok... now I've moved it here and it's all comfy. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
You mean this one ? it's certainly small enough to be in a flashlight /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

dazzler.gif


The company LE Systems I don't see any good webpages for offhand, but their contact info is Here

So what laws are you going to enforce with it?
 
Well... Here's one article that talks about what I'm looking for... Police in California are using the power of light as a non-violent way to subdue suspects.

But as you can see from the article, it's dated back in 2000. I can't find much that is current and figured that with all of this knowledge that we have here on CPF... (I'm not just blowing sunshine here guys... you all really impress the hell out of me with what you know!!)... maybe someone here could point me in the right direction.
 
James... that's precisely it!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

My husband is wondering if it has been developed any further to perhaps downsize it a bit. It really is kinda bulky. I gave him that website and he'll take it to work tomorrow and see what he can find out himself.

BTW... this is for his SWAT Team. I don't need fancy technology to enforce the law around here... I have my whip...
whip2.gif
.... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
Hmmm, looks like a photodiode with a filter on it and a pair of LCD glasses would defeat this thing. Hmmm.... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif Better locks, better lockpicks....

A good thing for LEOs to keep in mind when using technology like this is that it's new and the 'other side' hasn't had time to adapt to it, so it works better. Once they have a chance to adapt, be careful. Imagine the situation of some SWAT fellows throwing a flashbang into a building and then doing an entry on it--only to find those inside fully prepared to respond. Just when the SWAT members were expecting nicely stunned 'dear in headlight' subjects, they get a strongly coordinated counter response.

The dazzler seems to be double bad in that case. For one, I see a half dozen ways for a prepared opponent to defeat it *and* it gives them a very good aim point.

The moral is guns have been around for hundreds of years, so both sides have had plenty of time to hammer out good tactics. When something completely new is thrown in the mix, it will change the dynamic of the situation, but it won't be long before it 'corrects' itself and balance is again acheived.

So, to say it yet again, be careful. Please.
 
i thought NATO can declared the use of lasers being used as blinding/hindering devices to be "wrong" and not for fair use in combat/etc.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Willmore said:
Hmmm, looks like a photodiode with a filter on it and a pair of LCD glasses would defeat this thing. Hmmm.... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif Better locks, better lockpicks....

[Stuff deleted]

[/ QUOTE ]

This would still have a place in prisons where you are pretty much guaranteed that the inmates won't have much for a high tech defense. It could still be used there.

Leddite,

Even if NATO has decided that you can't use lasers for combat, that doesn't stop the government from using it internally for law enforcement.

-Kevin
 
Mirror? LCD glasses?

How about just looking at the floor as you rush the source of green light?!

This might make a GREAT party light, but I doubt it's usefulness as a weapon or crowd control device.
 
The web site says 140 mw; you could beat that with 3 small 50 mw green lasers. (The only trick would be ganging together the switches.) (Though I don't know if it's more clever than "constant on".)

I don't think looking at the floor would help if the laser light hits your eyes. Closing your eyes would work; I guess the people who use these should also carry marbles 🙂
 
Actually... this device is being used very successfully in law enforcement. Do some more reading up on it and you'll see that it has been in use since Somalia... that was what? 8 years ago? They used red ones then but changed to green and run through prisms. I'm not sure the article above fully explains what this thing does. It disorients. It causes nausea. There is no defense against it except to turn away... in confusion... with pukey guts... that's all the SWAT team needs.
 
I saw those on Discovery. They had tape of a prisoner being subdued with one. It worked /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif But some people have lower / higher tolerances then others. YMMV.
 
There's been a lot of discussion of these things here on CPF over the last month and it's well known how they work. They use two main effects, one if the high amount of light that hits the eyes causes an overload/stunning effect--which can be avoided by shielding the eyes. Secondly, the way the laser light is pulsed can cause epileptic type effects in the brain--causing temporary disorientation and paralasis.

I don't doubt that these are working just great in real world situations. What I doubt is that they'll continue to be effective. There will be a counter technology. What about a pair of goggles with 'notch' filter set at the green laser frequency? You'd never even see them. The LCD shutter trick would work as well as long as the dazzler puts out a relatively predictable modulation or even if the LCD has a sufficiently fast response time. The idea is that the LCD shutters would opaque when the dazzler was on and open up with it's off.

Wonder if the local police department has one of these....
 
Willmore... I understand what you're saying. But I seriously doubt that when a SWAT team kicks a door at 5:23AM, the bad guys are going to have their handy-dandy anti-dazzler goggles on.

In situations where the bad guys would have the time and opportunity for counter tactics, I doubt the SWAT team would even consider using non-lethal weapons. At that point, it would more than likely be lethal.
 
Fun idea (perhaps not so to those involved). One can visualize bad guys dressing up in tin foil suits with hearing protectors and sunglasses on hiding in dark crack houses laying for the blue meanies......

I seem to recall a Navy funded, 'panic' study/proposal to counter the Kamikaze that involved a towed sled with a bright flashing (.7 Hz??) light. The idea was to lure them to the sled, it was never fielded. I also recall a lot of years back when the CHP (California Highway Patrol) shifted from Fords to Chevys (or was it the other way?) and the spare tire came on the passenger side where the (then quite bulky) radio had been mounted. Not to worry, move the radio to the drivers side. Except the drunks key in on the flashing red lights at the side of the freeway from time to time. What you get is a smashed patrol car, no radio, a drunk and a citizen you've just given a ticket to to send for help......

Fun idea.

Doug Owen
 
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